Gas dissolved in a liquid has been a known phenomena since the first vintage of wines from grape and the generation of carbon dioxide gas from the fermentation process. The retention of the carbon dioxide gas in its liquid dissolved state, has been a challenge from the first vintage of champagne, where the dissolved gas was the by product of the fermentation process, to current processes where gas is added, as in the case of soft drink production, and then the container is sealed to prevent gas effervescence.
Refrigeration or holding a liquid containing dissolved gas in a cooled state relative to ambient, is another technique for reducing the rate of effervescence, it being known that the cooler the liquid, the less energy available for boil off or for effervescence of the dissolved gas.
While the prior art contains many examples of stoppers or seals for sealing the opening of a container, for example a bottle of an artificially carbonated beverage or a bottle of champagne, it has been well recognized that the carbonation is best kept by the combination of the plug, effectively sealing in the effervesced gas, and refrigeration, to lower the energy level of the contained liquid. However, it has been recognized that while an effective plug may retard effervescence, refrigeration without a plug closing or sealing the opening of a container containing a carbonated to ambient, will not effectively retard effervescence and the carbonated beverage may be expected to quickly become flat.
Another problem with plugs used for sealing container is the seals wear with the result that with each use, the rate of effervescence of the dissolved gas increases.
Another significant problem with plugs is they must be sized to a container and at least several different sized plugs must be kept to accommodate sized bottles or at least several of the same size where several bottles of champagne or other carbonated beverage are open at the same time. Accordingly, a problem faced by the prior art is an effective way to retard effervescence without resort to a container plug for sealing the outlet of a container for the carbonated beverage.